Agadir

A rebuilt city

Agadir has a history of its own. On 29 February 1960, shortly before midnight, a shallow earthquake of magnitude 5.8 destroyed the city and killed more than 12,000 people, about a third of its inhabitants. The city was rebuilt after the disaster, which is why Agadir has no old town. People come for the beach, the climate and the day trips more than for monuments.

The Agadir Oufella kasbah, on its hill, is the main reminder of the city as it was. A restoration project is rebuilding its ramparts as they stood on the eve of the earthquake, with a memorial and a visitor walkway inside the walls. Since July 2022, a 1,700 m cable car has run up to it from the Tildi bridge, in about six minutes. Sabaro suggests going in the late afternoon, for the view over the bay.

Winter in the sun

The Moroccan National Tourist Office presents Agadir as "the city with 300 days of sunshine a year". The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) 1991-2020 normals for the Agadir-Inezgane station fill in the picture:

• A mild winter. In January the average high is 21.2 °C, against 17.6 °C in Casablanca; it rains on 21 days a year on average, mostly from November to March. Evenings are cool, with a January low of 8.4 °C: a jacket is useful.
• A temperate summer. The high stays around 27 °C in July and August, thanks to the trade winds.
• The sea. It ranges from 16.6 °C in February to 20.5 °C in September; it is above 19.5 °C from July to October, the best months for swimming.

This mild winter is what makes Agadir a destination from October to April for European travellers.

Where to stay for your kind of trip

The tourist zone stretches along the 10 km seafront. The choice depends on the kind of stay:

• With children, hotels with a kids' club, such as the Riu Palace Tikida Agadir, all-inclusive, on the seafront, or the Sofitel Agadir Thalassa Sea & Spa, in the Baie des Palmiers, with its Petit Prince club.
• Adults only, the Riu Tikida Beach, all-inclusive and for adults only, on the beach.
• For thalassotherapy, the Sofitel Agadir Thalassa, whose institute has 25 treatment rooms and a four-level marine circuit.
• For golf, three courses surround the city: Golf du Soleil, Golf de l'Océan and Golf Les Dunes, created in 1991, with 27 holes in three loops of nine. The Tazegzout course, at Taghazout Bay, is some twenty kilometres north.

Sabaro recommends a hotel on the beach rather than set back from it: the bay is enjoyed on foot, from morning to evening.

Souk El Had and argan

Souk El Had, with more than 6,000 shops, is the city's big market. It is closed on Mondays. Go in the morning, when the stalls are full, and bring dirhams.

Argan. The Agadir region is argan country, a tree endemic to the Argan Biosphere Reserve of south-western Morocco. In 2014 UNESCO inscribed the practices and know-how concerning the argan tree on the list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity: picking, drying, cracking and grinding the fruit, work done mainly by women in rural areas. Signposted routes lead to local products: argan oil, for cooking or cosmetics, honey and amlou, a paste of almonds, honey and argan oil. Every summer, the Timitar festival is devoted to world music, Amazigh music in particular.

Day trips

Agadir is a good base: everything can be done in a day.

• Taroudant, 82.7 km and 1 h 25 away, which Sabaro covers on a separate page.
• Souss-Massa National Park, to the south, home to about 250 bird species, including the northern bald ibis; at Tifnit, abandoned cave dwellings are carved into the rock.
• Paradise Valley, about an hour's drive, with gorges and natural pools under palm trees.
• Taghazout, some twenty kilometres north, for a surf lesson or lunch facing the waves.
• Further afield, Essaouira at 174.9 km and 2 h 55, Marrakesh at 257.9 km and 3 h, and to the south Mirleft and Sidi Ifni, about two hours away.

How many days. Sabaro suggests a week for a beach holiday with two or three day trips; four or five days are enough for a short break in the sun.